US President Joe Biden has asked officials to prevent media leaks related to the exchange of intelligence between the United States and Ukraine.
This was reported by NBC News.
President Joe Biden on Friday told senior US intelligence and defense officials to emphasize the importance of their work but also said the latest news about the US-Ukraine intelligence exchange was "counterproductive".
One of the officials said in a telephone conversation with CIA Director William Burns, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haynes, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that disclosure was "a distraction from our goal". According to another official, Biden said the leak should be stopped.
- On May 6, The New York Times reported, citing its own sources, that US intelligence had provided Ukraine with information about Russiaʼs flagship, Moskva, of the Black Sea Fleet. This allowed the Ukrainians to successfully hit the ship and sink it.
- At the same time, the Pentagon said it had not provided Ukraine with "specific targeting information" to hit a Russian ship.